We always hear about time goals. I want to break 4 hours in the marathon. I think I can run X pace for this race… but what about non-time based goals? Are there other ways to set goals for your races? Is there a benefit to setting non-time based goals?  Time goals are great for figuring out about what pace you want to run for the race, but what if you have a rocky day. You don’t want to feel like a failure if you don’t hit an arbitrary time goal. YOU PUT IN SO MUCH WORK & already are a big winner! The training is the hardest part of things. You committed to something and worked hard to get there. Race day is a hard day but it is a cherry on top of the training cycle. Setting Time Based Goals Setting A, B, C, D goals Different levels of how aggressive we want to be Someone who is coming back first race postpartum  Reflecting on workouts during the cycle and prior racing experience Was it a SMART goal? Not just choosing the round # because it looks cool. Setting Non-Time Based Goals Negative split How you want to feel the second half of the race Executing your mental game - What does this look like? What have you struggled with in the past? Place goal or AG goal Finishing is an accomplishment Looking at race history: Happiest race? Slowest race? Funnest race? Most carefree? Most dogs counted? Other challenges throughout the race Don’t Walk Pass more people the 2nd half